Other Moons - Vietnamese Short Stories of the American War and Its Aftermath by Quan Manh Ha

4.2 (4)
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Product Details

Web ID: 17693428

In this anthology, Vietnamese writers describe their experience of what they call the American War and its lasting legacy through the lens of their own vital artistic visions. A North Vietnamese soldier forms a bond with an abandoned puppy. Cousins find their lives upended by the revelation that their fathers fought on opposite sides of the war. Two lonely veterans in Hanoi meet years after the war has ended through a newspaper dating service. A psychic assists the search for the body of a long-vanished soldier. The father of a girl suffering from dioxin poisoning struggles with corrupt local officials. The twenty short stories collected in Other Moons range from the intensely personal to narratives that deal with larger questions of remembrance, trauma, and healing. By a diverse set of authors, including many veterans, they span styles from social realism to tales of the fantastic. Yet whether describing the effects of agent orange exposure or telling ghost stories, all speak to the unresolved legacy of a conflict that still haunts Vietnam. Among the most widely anthologized and popular pieces of short fiction about the war in Vietnam, these works appear here for the first time in English. Other Moons offers Anglophone audiences an unparalleled opportunity to experience how the Vietnamese think and write about the conflict that consumed their country from 1954 to 1975 a perspective still largely missing from American narratives.

  • Product Features

    • Suggested age range - Adult
    • Format - Paperback
    • Dimensions - 5.7" W x 8.4" H x 0.7" D
    • Genre - Classics
    • Publisher - Columbia University Press, Publication date - 08-04-2020
    • Page count - 272
    • ISBN - 9780231196093

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Ratings & Reviews

4.2/5

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4 years ago
from Boston, MA

Beautiful and heartbreaking anthology

I don’t read short story anthologies very often but I was extremely intrigued by Other Moons because of the subject material. The Vietnam War is taught to us in the US very different than it’s taught in Vietnam. The impacts of the Vietnam War/The American War are widespread and not discussed very often. This war, like so many others, has been sensationalized as the US “saving” another country when really it’s impetus is capitalism, racism and imperialism. Other Moons is an anthology of short stories written by Vietnamese authors about the war - both before, during and after and the far reaching impacts on Vietnamese and American people. My two favorite stories were “Ms. Thoai” and “The Sorrow Wasn’t Only Ours” but many of them were beautiful and heartbreaking. If you’ve never read any books or stories from Vietnamese authors about the American War I’d highly recommend this one. “The older I get, the more I realize that the most precious thing in life is the ability to forgive.”

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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

4 years ago
from United Kingdom

A tremendously important anthology

I am the epitome of Other Moons' intended audience - a military veteran obsessed with the American War in Vietnam, but yearning for stories about those who were most affected by it, and least heard from (Vietnamese foot soldiers, women, children, villagers torn between both sides of the conflict). This book did not disappoint. I found the stories openhearted, honest, moving, and insightful. In a melancholy way, I loved the ghosts and the unrequited sorrow of characters throughout. They seemed to speak - never maudlin, though - as lingering effects of the conflict. I was introduced to writers I would not otherwise have met (Bao Ninh was the only name I recognized) and I am so glad for it. This is a tremendously important anthology, and I appreciate the chance to read and review (and recommend) Other Moons ahead of its wider distribution.

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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

4 years ago
from Texas

excellent collection!

Saw this book at a local store and bought it. I've been to Vietnam before, and this book helps me understand the people there better and how they deal with the war's consequences.

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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

4 years ago
from Philadelphia, PA

An Untold Version of the Vietnam War

Thank you to Columbia University Press & NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy. Set in the aftermath of the American War in Vietnam, "Other Moons" is one of the first English translations of Vietnamese writers. While the editors do discuss the impact of the current geopolitical atmosphere in Vietnam and their limitations on content, this was a diverse collection that is well worth the time.. Romantic stories are not what you would expect from a collection of war stories, but they fit nonetheless. The best part of the collection is the way it catches the pervasiveness of war time trauma. Even for those who are not on the battlefield, the women and children, feel the effects of violence. I applaud the editors for centering these voices & painting a poignant image of postwar Vietnam, one that outsiders rarely get to see.

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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com